hot off the workbench

Stray Goose Studio is stepping up in the world and is investing in tools and materials to advance the quality and ease of product production! I am pleased for my own sake, as the act of making is always a better experience when the right tools for the job are available and the materials are both ethically sourced and nice to work with, but mostly I am excited to now offer what are definitely improved leather goods. The first wallet of this new line is pictured above and bellow. The leather is vegetable tanned (an environmentally friendly process!) cowhide sourced from the USA that I then cut, punch holes in and hand stitch with linen I've bees-waxed. Lastly the edges are beveled, dampened with water and slicked for a supper clean look. This wallet was rubbed with organic coconut oil resulting in a color reminiscent of parched desert soil but it will evolve with use becoming richer, softer and truly unique.      

While I was on my studio improvement spending spree I also picked up a new Swiss wax file and a diamond needle file set to benefit my carving processes. The wax file's teeth are more like a woodworking rasp than the supper fine teeth of my metalsmithing files. Because of this they are able to bite off and remove materials like bone and ivory without clogging up and having to be constantly cleaned. The needle files are helpful in the same way. It is also nice that they work like sandpaper and "cut" in all directions of movement so that I can more easily clean up tight spots in the object I am carving. So much good news already but the last and possibly best tidbit is that the outdoors had put on a fresh, sunshine-y face today for a change. Lovely to have Raggedtop Mountain gleaming through the window:)   

New tools! Clockwise from top left: wooden edge slicker, wax file, edge beveler, diamond needle files, beeswax, 8 hole and 1 hole stitching chisels.